1. What is your perception of the role of a registered nurse? I perceive the role of a registered nurse to be to provide services that are geared towards promoting health and helping those afflicted with health challenges to cope with their conditions. 2. Has the perception changed since entering nursing? Not much. The one thing that came as a surprise was the kind of dedication and humanity that is required to be an effective nurse. 3. In what areas if nursing have you worked in I have worked in a clinic where I assisted the doctor with routine duties like administering injections, dressing wounds and minor surgery.
I currently work in a nursing where we care for elderly men with various health conditions 4. Did you feel you needed different types of communication for each specialty area, if so, how did your communication differ? Yes. The communication has tended to differ depending on the audience. For example sometime when a patient would have fear for injections and I would need to be reassuring and gentle while at other times I experience stubborn patients who want to have their way and as such I have to communicate that am in control without being harsh.
5. With whom do you communicate most frequently? I communicate a great deal with the patients as well as with fellow nurses at work 6. How important do you believe communication is in a nurse/client relationship? Communication is very important because the nurse is supposed to help the patient cope with illness or condition and therefore communication between the two is key if the objective is to be achieved. 7. Are there insights or tips you can give me that you have discovered enhance
communication with clients or others? You must put on a gentle expression on the face and maintain eye contact that instills confidence and as you speak your voice should be firm but soothing. This helps the patient to develop trust and as they relax you can be able to assist them effectively. Part II. When the interview began I was a bit apprehensive but as I progressed with the interview I felt more and more relaxed and in-charge. It was a great help that the interviewee was a pleasant person and I enjoyed myself.
I noticed that the interviewee would narrow his eyes momentarily when I posed a question to him. Once in a while he would shift slightly in his seat when the line of questioning changed. When I asked him if his perception of the role of a registered nurse changed when he got into it, he used his hands to gesture and it was clear that he was placing emphasis on what he was saying. These were among the non-verbal cues that I noted.
Reference: Manusov, Valerie; Patterson, Miles L. (2006). The SAGE Handbook of Nonverbal Communication. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications,